Cable Channels Planning Long Look At War Heroism

For Memorial Day, cable's History Channel chronicles the heroics of military units and commanders from 10 a.m. to midnight, with a focus on individual exploits at 9 nightly through Thursday.

Today's lineup: Battle History of the U.S. Marines: Born in Blood, 10 a.m.; The True Story of the Big Red One, 11 a.m.; A Complete History of the Navy SEALs, 1 p.m.; Weapons at War: Special Forces, 3; The True Story of the Screaming Eagles, 4; America's Five-Star Heroes: Gods of War, 6; and at 8, The True Story of the Fighting Sullivans, about the five brothers who died when a Japanese torpedo sank the USS Juneau at Guadalcanal in 1942. Their tragic story was the basis of a taut 1944 war film.

History Channel's Unsung Heroes of World War II, four hours recounting the valor of lesser-known military men, begins tonight at 9 with the story of a Marine nicknamed "Red Mike" Edson, who fought the ground war in the Pacific, and Roy Geiger: Flying Leatherneck. On Tuesday, it's Rangers in Korea: Behind the Enemy and Col. Pergrin: Panzer Stopper. On Wednesday, the shows are Dateline Tarawa: Correspondents From Hell and The Flag Raisers of Iwo Jima. And on Thursday, Unsung Heroes ends with Swede Momsen: Submarine Savior and Peter Tompkins: The Spy Who Sparred With Hitler.

TLC also offers fare for the holiday: At 9 p.m., Vietnam: Stories From the Wall profiles four men whose names appear on the Vietnam Memorial Wall in the nation's capital; and at 10, War in the Gulf: The Soldiers' Story offers two segments on the struggle for oil-rich Kuwait.